This will be short. Because I already wrote a column about Monta Ellis looking very good in his Big Comeback Game–20 points, 8-of-19 shooting in 34 hard minutes.

(Here’s the link to the column, provided here because it’s pretty nicely hidden on the Merc site.)

Oh, and one big dunk (a few hours after I wondered whether he could dunk in a game and he gave me the big pre-game eye roll).

Quick other thoughts:

* The Warriors played well–I think they normally match up OK with the Cavs because Don Nelson loves it when the opponent puts two or more bad offensive players on the floor at the same time.

Ben Wallace and Anderson Varejao, come on down! And add Mo Williams, who tonight was abysmal (6 of 17 shooting) and Sasha Pavlovic was not much better.

Whatever, the Warriors played a nice game. I think Ellis’ return gave them extra juice, which gave Stephen Jackson fresher legs to hit those two huge jumpers over LeBron in the last moments.

* What the heck happened on the last Cleveland play–LeBron gets it in the left corner… matched up one-on-one with Ronny Turiaf?

The way Nelson and Stephen Jackson explained it, they inverted the defense on the play–and when LeBron crossed through the defense, SJax easily switched over to James and the Warriors pounced and knocked the pass out of bounds.

But after a Cleveland timeout, the Warriors STILL had Jackson off of James, waiting for James to cut through the defense again… Only on the second play, James just faded to the corner, where SJax couldn’t get to him and it left Turiaf manned-up.

Nelson said that Ellis should’ve left his man (Daniel Gibson) at that point to chase down James to make sure LeBron doesn’t take the shot to beat them. But that didn’t happen.

And on to the post-game transcripts…. ELLIS, SJAX and a very terse DON NELSON…

******* MONTA ELLIS, post-game gaggle/

-Q: So I guess you can dunk in a game.

-ELLIS: (Sigh. Eyeroll. Shakes head.)

-Q: How did you feel during the game?

-ELLIS: I felt great. It was a good game. It went down to the end. Great players make great shots at the end of the game.

-Q: How do you assess your own performance?

-ELLIS: I wanted to go out there and play basketball, try to do whatever I can to help us win. I felt good out there.

-Q: Did you do everything you expected?

-ELLIS: Meaning what?

-Q: Meaning looking like the old Monta? Did you do all things you wanted to do?

-ELLIS: I felt I did good. I’ve been out for so long. Part of my game’s still rusty, but overall, it was a great game.

-Q: Did you expect to play 34 minutes? How did that feel?

-ELLIS: I went out and played basketball.

-Q: Did you get a little tired in the second quarter when Nelson pulled you after a quick run?

-ELLIS: No, that was Nellie’s decision. I got back in there. That’s all that matters.

-Q: You knew the crowd would cheer you. But what did it feel like when you actually got out there and heard it?

-ELLIS: It felt great, back to doing what I was doing, playing basketball. Having the fans behind me, hearing their support. Would’ve been nice if we’d gotten a win.
***** STEPHEN JACKSON, post-game gaggle/
-Q: What was it like going back and forth with LeBron there in the final minute?

-JACKSON: He gets more props. I’m more underrated than he is. But we both love playing, we both love competing. That’s not the first time he a buzzer-beater. That’s what he does. That’s why he’s one of the best in the league.

-Q: Do you take that as a personal challenge?

-JACKSON: I take it personal with anybody, whether it’s LeBron to Troy Murphy to anybody, I’m going to take it personally. I just love playing the game. I want to help my team win. That’s all I’m thinking about.

-Q: On the last play, you were playing for the switch?

-JACKSON: The first time, we inverted and we killed their play. And I told Ronny, if he pops out, just to run back to his man. I guess we just had a little (mis)-communication.

Ronny played great D. It was a tough shot.

-Q: Losing two in a row at the buzzer… can it have a benefit or does it hurt the team?

-JACKSON: I’ll take that shot from LeBron. It hurt more from Jeff Green—that glass shot. But we played well. First game with Monta back, it shows the signs of how we can be and how good this team can be.

I think everybody wanted this game bad. But they made a lot of great plays. LeBron made a lot of good plays. As a leader, he did what he needed to do for his team to win.

-Q: Did having Monta back give you some extra energy?

-JACKSON: Just having him back is good for me. I’ve been with him the whole time he was hurt. I was with him the whole summer. Just having him back, knowing that we have our franchise guy back to help us on the court.

He opens up a lot of stuff for me, too. I had way more energy that I had all season at the end of the fourth quarter tonight than any game. It felt good, because I had somebody to take the load off.

There’s a way we can build on this, playing against one of the best teams in the league, now we try to get a win against the Clippers.

-Q: Did you expect Monta to be this good?

-JACKSON: Yes. I talk to him every day. I see him in practice. I mean, us Southern boys, our bones are a little different. We heal faster than the norm. I knew… that if he felt like he was ready, he was going to come back and give his best effort.

I know what he can do. He showed a lot of signs of being 100%.

-Q: Did you know he was going to dunk it when you gave him that pass?

-JACKSON: I knew, if he cuts I’m going to give to him because I know he’s going to at least try and dunk it. He wasn’t going to go out there try to ease it, he’s going to go out and go 110%. He played great tonight for his first game being out nine months.

-Q: That extra energy you got… is that why you tried that dunk?

-JACKSON: I’m going to dunk every once in a while. You might see me try a little bit. Age is definitely showing on my jumping skills. I think if I hadn’t gotten fouled, I probably would’ve made it.

I’m not the guy to dunk… I’ll leave that to Corey and Monta.

-Q: You and Monta inverted a few times—you playing the point feeding Monta on the wing. You think you’re going to play it that way a lot?

-JACKSON: Yeah, I think a lot of times teams really don’t want to switch when we run pick and roll. They want to keep the point guard on Monta and keep the bigger guy on me. And if they do, we can kind of play a two-man game and play off of each other.

We played together a lot this summer and we learned how to play together real well.

-Q: You’ve said that Artest was the toughest physically for you to defend. Is LeBron that tough… or tougher to guard?

-JACKSON: He’s the toughest for anybody. I think with LeBron, there’s nothing he can’t do, along with being 260. He can shoot, pass, jump, he can do it all. He’s awfully tough for anybody.

You try to make him take tough shots. And for the most part, he’s hitting those, too. So he’s kind of unstoppable now.

***** DON NELSON, post-game presser/
–Opening statement: Well, luck is not going our way at this particular time, but we played our asses off. It was a heckuva game.

Thought they made a nice adjustment after the way we played the first out of bounds play. They made a nice adjustment and ended up with a mismatch.

I really don’t have any complaints about the game at all. Thought we played great. Monta did well. To be competitive… this is a very good team we played tonight. I was very pleased.

-Q: Do you think Monta added energy to the team?

-NELSON: Yes.

-Q: Was your defense on the last play designed so that Turiaf and Jackson switch it, that’s why Turiaf ended up on LeBron when he didn’t cross?

-NELSON: Yes.

-Q: So that was Cleveland’s adjustment to your defense?

-NELSON: There was an error on the play. Because we were supposed to take that pass away with our out-of-bounds guy. There was an error there. But it was a nice adjustment. It still shouldn’t have been completed there.

-Q: When LeBron is by himself dribbling vs. Turiaf, do you want somebody running at him?

-NELSON: Yes. We wanted to hit our center off. But again, it’s Monta’s first game. Monta was involved in both of those plays and hadn’t played in a while. Probably was unfamiliar with what we would do in that situation.

When your center’s iso-ed on their best player, you want to go ahead and hit that. And make somebody else beat you. That’s my philosophy. So that was the second error.

But it’s hard to come off Gibson. He’s one of the best shooters in the league. Hopefully we would’ve rotated to him as well. They had good shooters on the floor. So they were a tough cover.

good article Tim. I was beginning to wonder if you started to hate the bay area or just started all the negativity for the warriors to gain reputation. This article shows you’re being truthful. I believe Monta will be a dominant force when he gets his midrange jumper back. He scored 20 and didn’t even have his midrange jumper yet. Imagine if gets his jumpers going and starts to score 25-35 points per game.

Twinkie defense

Sighs, eye rolls, head shakes… this is great Tim – in no time you will have the whole team rallying against you for wins! Keep it up.

“JACKSON: I take it personal with anybody, whether it’s LeBron to Troy Murphy to anybody, I’m going to take it personally.”

Marques 8

Terse? I guess that’s what you get when you keep that column about Nellie choosing greed over friendship hanging on your website. On police beats, government beats, and sports beats: it all works the same. You gotta give a little to get a little. You have defined your relationship to Nellie with some really ugly columns. You aren’t going to be getting much. And it is hard to feel bad for you. You have it coming. My guess is that if the world is coming to an end and the Warriors are announcing it, you will be the last to know.

niner

funny how we are so excited just trying to get to where we were with BD. Management really needs to changed, as the team is going backwards.
(playoff wins, next year just miss the playoffs, this year pitiful)
i dont blame Nelson since he didnt forget how to coach in 2 years
but how many wins will cleveland get without LeBron? We havent been able to replace BD even with Maggette, and crawford and the rest.
What i do have against Nellie is his stubborness. Garnett and Kobe did not play well their first year. As time they got better and better. This team really needs to play Randolph and Wright , heck were already losing, why not get them ready for next year?

stackjack

Ellis certainly brought some energy to the team (perhaps some of it driven by Lebron/sold-out Oracle). Definitely seemed to motivate Maggette to play more D. Good to see he has it in him (unlike Crawford seemingly). Back to being an exciting, flawed team like last year but only a little worse. Need Wright or Randolph to develop quickly to have any shot at low seed playoff spots in years to come…

Perspective

CC:

Missed this one. While an intuitive play, Monta definitely could have run at LeBron as he was making the jab step and step back.

Was the defense designed for Ellis help? I don’t know. But look at the replay. No way, LeBron was going to pass the ball to the man Ellis would have vacated. Help D there may have made the shot more difficult.

I think less excuse-making than wishful thinking on Nelson’s part.

Kyle

We’re obviously not as good of a team as the Cavs and yet we almost won a great game. I was actually pleased with the game and the effort – definitely a sign of brighter things to come in my opinion.

Gaucho

Hey MN, fire Tim K. now!!!!!!! This guy is a cancer to the Bay Area sports culture!!!!!!!

Gizzm

Man, they need to get Morrow more shots. No way that Stack of Crap Jack should be taking twice as many shots as the 3pt King.

Chris Cohan

Mr. Jackson is doing exactly what Bobby Rowell has directed him to do.

make the stupid STH (with their fists full of moneys) show up and buy the merchandise and overpriced nachos.

lather. rinse. repeat.

oh and re-up those tickets in a few weeks!

Gambit

Great to see Monta back and surprisingly near 100% – which leads us quickly to the inevitable – WE HAVE TO UNLOAD AT LEAST 1 GUARD. Marcus Williams is good as gone… Marco, Crawford will be coming back, adding to the log-jam.

Buke, Marco and Marrow (7-10 fg. 3-4 frm. 3-pt – another good game, THIS GUYS GOT SERIOUS POTENTIAL) demand playing time. You have to keep these three including Watson as they are currently cheap, productive players PACKED WITH POTENTIAL…

COREY MAGGETTE HAS TO GO….. either at the Feb. trade deadline or the offseason, HE HAS TO GO…. Someone has to be sacrificed and Maggs has the biggest contract (will hurt the franchise for years) and being “old” on a very young team, he has the least potential for improvement. Our hit list has to be in this order…

1. C Maggs – (Has reached the ceiling as a player, one dimensional, albatross contract, NEVER HEARD OF DEFENSE)

2.) Crawford – (albatross contract, no defense but fits well in Nellies offense as an unconscious scoring guard – can spend time at point)

3.) Jax – (questionable shot slection, but VERY CLUTCH, plays defense has heart, good passer for his position)

NellieSUX

Why does Hall of Fame coach Don Nelson blame his players for a loss EVERYTIME? Every post game Q and A includes an EXCUSE from Nellie how his team lost because his players f!cked up even if they are 19 years old or playing in their FIRST GAME ALL SEASON! A good coach takes responsibility for his team just like a good boss doesn’t blame his employees for EVERY F!CKUP in their business… Don, you have the YOUNGEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE!

How is your team full of rookies and second year men just suppose to know how to win games in the NBA?!! YOU HAVE TO TEACH THEM!!! Hence your title of “head coach. ”

You get paid the big bucks to prepare and train them to win… not imprison them on the bench, jerk around their playing time killing their confidence, then bash them in the media when they can’t pull it off with their individual talent level. All while you sit your fat, drunk ass on the bench continplating food and booze doing ZERO coaching, calling ZERO plays… NOTHING IS EVER YOUR FAULT HUH NELLIE???????????????????

SuperBlogger

That was not Monta, it was Marcus Williams with a Monta jersey and mask on. Stop falling for these tricks people, they just want your money. I told you Monta will be back mid-Feb to never

Bamboo

To reemphasize my point from yesterday… the tell tale sign of a bad coach is inconsistancy. After beating the defending NBA champions our team clearly has talent and can play with any team in the league…

– Could and should have beat Cavs (33-8 defending Eastern conference finalist)